Benjamin Leroux Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru La Pièce Sous Le Bois 2020

Benjamin Leroux was born in Beaune, not to a vigneron family, but decided in his teens that he wanted to make wine and at the age of 13 attended the  Lycée Viticole in Baune. After his oenology studies, he worked at Cos d'Estournel in Bordeaux, Domaine Drouhin in Oregon, Louis Jadot in Beaune before making a name for himself as the régisseur (general manager) of Domaine du Comte Armand in Pommard. Benjamin Leroux established a small negociant business in 2007. For fifteen years, this has been one of the most dynamic cellars on the Côte in terms of winemaking. Leroux works with some 50 appellations and every wine has its own bespoke treatment according to the conditions of each vintage.  

Leroux owns two slithers of vines in Meursault’s highest 1er Cru, La Pièce Sous Le Bois in Blagny (on the Meursault) side. The first is 0.44-hectares of Chardonnay planted in 1953. The second is planted to Pinot and therefore labelled as Blagny La Pièce Sous Le Bois. This vineyard is biodynamically certified and is perhaps Leroux’s most extreme and rocky terroir. While it lies at a high altitude (320-350 metres) and suffers bitterly cold winters, the vineyard picks up plenty of sun during the summer. Listening to Leroux talk about Blagny, he’s clearly smitten with the “Saint Aubin-style” terroir. This is a simply gorgeous, mineral example of white Burgundy.

Lemony and bright, with pleasant mineral notes from the thin, rocky limestone soils. The wine has plenty of structure, and there is richness countered by freshness. A dynamic and delicious wine. Leroux farms 1.65ha in Blagny for white wine. The grapes in 2020 were picked at 13.5% potential alcohol and pressed as whole clusters without crushing. The juice was run into used casks with a large percentage of the lees for fermentation and ageing. - Charles Curtis MW, Decanter, 94 Points

The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Chardonnay
Country - France
Region - Burgundy
Vintage - 2020
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13.5%